When a group of 13 University of Scranton physical therapy and occupational therapy students traveled to the Navajo nation, they met a healer named Philmer Bluehouse.

But Mr. Bluehouse, a Dineh Medicine traditionalist, does not prefer that title.

"My role is to guide people to healing," he said during a presentation in the university's Moskovitz Theater on Thursday night. "I am not a healer."

Mr. Bluehouse explained the traditional Navajo healing methods he has practiced since he was 12 years old. He focuses on the psychological and spiritual aspects of healing, he said, calling his methods the "Achievement Way." He said he helps patients "reconnect with their nature" by exploring a four-part paradigm of opposites that Navajo culture believes inform the body, mind and spirit of human beings.

Dozens of University of Scranton students, faculty and community members filled the auditorium to hear Mr. Bluehouse speak.

Mr. Bluehouse hoped his presentation would help his audience.

"When they see other cultures and traditional ways, it will help them grow," he said.

Dr. John Sanko, Ed.D., chairman of the physical therapy department at the university, said he was "thrilled" at the attendance for Mr. Bluehouse's presentation.

"This is a really beautiful culture," he said.

Dr. Sanko leads the trips to the Navajo nation and has witnessed Mr. Bluehouse's healing rituals.

"You've enriched me," he said to Mr. Bluehouse. "Every time we come back, I feel we've learned so much."

Dr. Sanko hoped to present some of Mr. Bluehouse's methods at physical therapy conferences, emphasizing that modern and traditional medicinal methods are linked. "We are more familiar with Western medicine," he said. "But it's not either/or, it's both."

Contact the writer: sscinto@timesshamrock.com, @sscintoTT on Twitter

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